Bold as a Bear

You just can’t forget some people whom you think are extra ordinary. Even though it happened a long time ago, I am still amazed at how this guy picked himself up after initially stumbling at school, and went on to excel in his field.

We were high school freshmen then at UP. During the first week of class, a teacher got fancy in the way she wanted us to introduce ourselves. “Introduce yourselves using your name as an acronym” she said. “Be creative as possible.”

And so we contemplated hard on how to adorn ourselves with a unique and creative acronym. When the teacher asked for volunteers, the lanky, pale skinned, brown haired boy raised his hand, and then stood up without any hesitation. “I am B. I am bold as bear.” The girls giggled. The boys laughed. The teacher was amused.

B was bold indeed. When the time for us to elect our class President came, B presented himself. The others took a dagger look at him. But he just smiled. And there was no one else who challenged him.

But his fame at our school was short lived. Many times a classmate and I went to his house to check on how he was doing. It was only a few meters walk from school. We just wanted to tell him of the coming exams because he was absent for many days. He said that he’s sick and had a nightly asthma attack.

At the end of the school year, the removals could have saved him. I am one of the few who believed in the guy. I’ve known him getting high grades even without studying. Many times he appeared only on exam day, and cram on a classmate’s notes. But he failed to show up on the last and final exam schedule.

He was kicked out of UP and returned as freshman in his former school. I never heard of him again until four years after I saw his name and picture in the newspaper as one of the top ten outstanding high school graduates in the province. Wow! Then another five years, he graduated Magna Cum Laude in engineering. He also placed 3rd in the board exam.

How’s that for a kid kicked out at UP? I did try googling his name a few months ago and found it listed as a fellow in a prestigious UP writing workshop. His name also appeared in some science journal.

Way to go, man! You really are bold as a bear.